Modern Vespa

I ordered a set of K66s from John at Moto Amore two weeks ago and had them installed Friday. My 250 was in for her 600-mile service and I chose to replace the stock Michelin Pilot Sports, as I don't see them as being suitable for winter driving here in MN.

First impressions, in good driving conditions: the Heidenaus don't want to turn or lean as readily as the Michelins. Now you might say, "... but turning is the whole point of an MP3!", and I mostly agree. It's not a bad thing: what it feels like is that the scoot wants to be upright, like it has springs on the sides of the tires or a gyroscopic compensator installed. With the Michelins I never got a sense that they preferred being upright vs. being at any other angle - they felt very "round" laterally. The Heidenaus definitely give you feedback and a preference, IMO. As someone planning to ride in less-than-ideal conditions, I'm okay with that. Staying upright means not falling!

As far as traction goes, they feel very grippy so far. I wonder if that's where some of the extra resistance to turning comes in: all that wonderful tread wants to keep a centerline and they don't flick as readily as the Michelins did. I haven't yet tried any twisties or low-speed maneuvers with them to see how they handle under more demanding conditions than a half-hour of urban street-crawling.

Some caveats: these are new-new tires on a nearly-new scoot with a nearly-new rider. As all three of these elements continue to "gain experience", I'll do my best to report back.

Thanks for the info. on your new tires. I like the looks of the K-61's for my climate in Texas. Those look like those can do some winter riding . I'm still amazed at handling of the Pilots. I'm just about ready for new ones. I waiting for my Harbor Freigt mini- changer. Been about 2 months now. I have to watch out for all the dust that collects on the road here, as we have so little rain. The tail end can break loose real easy .



Have fun, be safe

After about 2000 miles on my K66s, I remain very pleased with their performance overall.

I rode on 'em through the winter here. I've ridden over ice patches, on rain, through puddles and sun, and I've not yet fallen. They act a little weird on rain grooves and make the scooter twitch & shudder a bit, but that's within the realm of control. And after that 2000 miles, the rear looks like this, which I think is pretty darn good as tire wear goes.

That tire looks great for 2k miles, I may just throw one on my MP-3 next time around to see how it does for me but we don't get much ice/snow or even rain here on the coast of Cali.

I have ~100 miles on the K66 to date. It is a rather radical change from the stock Pilot and still trying to figure it out. With some advice, I checked the tire pressure and preload on the shock and still...

The MP3's handling is VERY different and, so far, I do not feel comfortable on a machine that does not give a "feel" while cornering.... I am used to the typical counter steering effects where the hand interior to the curve pushes out to manage/ keep the trajectory. With the K66, I do not feel such pressure on the inside OR the outside hand as well... The handlebars feel totally "neutral", hence not giving a form of feedback front the font end... Very odd feeling as if one is riding on over inflated tires OR tires which are too big for the bike... Cornering now has become a rather "tense" experience in the arms since constantly trying to assess whether leaning enough or too much... get it?

I'll keep posting these feelings as I further explore and get used to this change in handling... Maybe this will fade with more mileage? I certainly hope so...

After 4.5K miles on my GT I replaced the stock Pirellis with Heidenau K61s. I noticed, as well, that the Heidenaus tended to right themselves after leaning into a turn. A German scooter tire test a while back said that Heidenaus have very ridged sidewalls, so maybe that accounts for the perceived handling difference.

Dunlop Runscoots came OEM on my new MP3 500. Does anyone have experience with these? They got a bad review in the NY scooter club forum.

_http://www.nyscooterclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=12275

Replaced the Pirelli's with the K66's . Really have not seen a great deal of difference with the new tires...running 40 psi in the rear and 30 in the front, have not seen a great deal of difference in the cornering.

I would love to see a complete picture of the bike with these wheels!!!!
Can you guys post a pic of your ride with the winter wheels on?
Does it change it to a more aggressive looking ride?

I've seen the Dunlops on the newer/late year 500s. Hadn't heard any bad reviews personally. Mine and many of the earlier year models came with Michelin Golds. I love those and also the Pirelli Diablos are getting good reviews as well.

unless your Fuzzy